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Category: Christian living

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21, (NIV).

I have been around evangelical Christians for most of my life. In this community, particularly for those who are marginalized and disenfranchised, God is often viewed as a protector, a champion for the saints in the midst of evil. Scriptures such as 2 Thessalonians 3:3 and Psalm 59:1 underscore that point. To many of us who know and serve God, there is an expectation that God will keep us safe and will not let evil fall nigh our doorsteps. While mass murder was being committed at nightclubs, schools, and concert venues, some pastors and churches likely thought themselves exempt. They figured that a shooting of that type happening in a church was unlikely.

Therefore, it is difficult to come to grips with what happened in Sutherland Springs, Texas. On November 5, 2017, an unspeakable act of violence struck the First Baptist Church of Sutherland. In what was billed as the deadliest mass shooting in Texas history and the worst mass shooting at a house of worship in modern American history, a man, wielding a semi-automatic rifle, walked into the First Baptist Church during morning worship and shot 46 people. Twenty-six, including 14 children, were killed. Twenty others were injured.

Just a little more than a month before, a deranged gunman shot and killed 58 people and left 546 injured at a concert in Las Vegas. This shooting eclipsed the death toll of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida. In this shooting, 48 people were killed on June 12, 2016.

When these types of things happen, it is a natural human inclination to want to make sense out of them. Why did they happen? What went wrong? What could we have done to prevent them?

The answers do not come easily, except to ascribe them as pure evil. But that does not make them any easier to come to grips with. The church shooting at Sutherland Springs left many people struggling to understand. This was reminiscent of June 17, 2015 in Charleston, South Carolina, when nine people were killed in a historically black church.

A recent article by Christianity Today indicates that these are not the only deadly incidents that have occurred in faith institutions in this country. However, these recent church shootings shatter the purported safety net that many of us expect from having faith in God.

So, with such a loss of life as with what happened in Sutherland Springs, it begs the question: does God really protect us? If you cannot be safe inside a church during a worship service, then where can you be safe? Why didn’t God keep his redeemed people from experiencing such a tragedy? And what could possibly be God’s purpose in all of this?

Unfortunately, church shootings feed into the rhetoric of faith naysayers who use them as proof that God does not exist; or, if he exists, that he does not care much about us. Unfortunately, without quick intervention and support, some will fall away from the faith. They will believe that there is no point in worshipping God when you can be shot right in the middle of a worship service just before hearing the word of God.

Any intelligent, thinking Christian will struggle with how to interpret and process these church shootings and other mass shootings. It calls for more than simplistically saying “it’s the devil” and dismissing it from our minds. We do not have the luxury of dismissing the other non-church related events as something that happens in the world outside the church. The church has been stained by these events as well.

As I have thought and prayed about this, I cannot dismiss nor escape the reality. Faithful, God-fearing, innocent people have died at the hands of evil people. It has happened before Sutherland Springs and Charleston. We pray that it does not happen again. But we know that we live in a world in which the saints of God are not exempt from the same types of tragedies that can befall the rest of the world. Do we sit back passively and wait for them to come? Or do we, knowing that we are subject to church shootings, do everything we can to minimize or prevent encroaching danger?

Certainly, we can better secure our churches, and even go as far as to hire armed guards to patrol our worship services. Some churches have already taken that approach. Whether or not that approach is effective or even Scriptural is a subject for another article. But I believe there is another way that the saints of God can address mass church shootings.

The fact is that we live in a world replete with sin. Sin affects not only the person who commits it, but also others. Unfortunately, even innocent people are affected negatively by the sin of others. The mass shootings, whether in churches or elsewhere, are the result of the sin that has run rampant in this country. It is not more complicated than that. Gun control legislation, while important, will not solve the problem. Mental health treatment, while necessary, will not solve the problem. Having armed guards in our churches, while giving us a sense of security and safety, will not resolve the issue. Until we recognize the root of the problem, sin in the hearts of mankind, we will never gain any headway with reducing or stopping these tragedies.

We ask why God didn’t stop these things from happening without realizing that God has already given us the provisions and the authority to do so. God has given us the resources we need to address this issue, and the solutions are not political nor carnal. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (KJV) reminds us that, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds).”

If the saints of God are in any way disgusted, concerned, and angry about the mass shootings that have occurred, we should be prompted to more than surface level responses that do not address the root issue of sin. We should recognize that in the hearts of men such as Devin Patrick Kelley, Stephen Paddock, Omar Mateen, Dylan Roof, and all the other perpetrators of mass murder, lies deep-rooted sin that likely remained unaddressed or inadequately addressed before they committed their crimes. Mark 7:21-22 tells us that it is from the heart that evil intentions come. And that can only be dealt with through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Mind you, I am not speaking of religion, but a relationship. Not a creed, but a culture driven by love for the Lord and obedience to the word of God. Our response should not be to question God’s commitment to us or effectively nullify the Scriptures which relate to God’s protection. We should have a renewed commitment to using the weapons God has given us to deal with the sin problem, not only in others but also in ourselves. Before we start a blame game with God, we should check ourselves with the following questions:

1) Do we wage intercessory prayer on behalf of the saints of God and for the country at large?

2) Are we actively involved with sharing the truth of Jesus Christ to those around us who do not know Christ?

3) Are we engaging and embracing in love those around us who are hurting or suffering?

4) Are we arming ourselves with Scripture so that we have an answer for all those who inquire about our hope, or for those who seek to understand God?

5) Are we inviting God’s presence into our lives daily through praise, worship, prayer, and meditation? Are we being bathed daily by the Holy Spirit, repenting of our own sin?

6) Are we educating and informing ourselves about what happened at Sutherland Springs and at Charleston? Are we ensuring that we understand the issues that cause church shootings (whether they be mental illness, domestic violence, someone with a grudge, etc)? Do we know how to address these issues before they turn tragic?

Even the above is not guaranteed to prevent evil acts from affecting us or others. Ultimately, it is up to the perpetrators to make the decision to draw near to God. But when it happens, we can take comfort in Romans 8:35 (ESV), which reads, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” We can stand firm knowing that whatever befalls us, God has not left us or abandoned us. He is still there, looking after us.

The saints at First Baptist Church in Sutherland are smiling in the face of God, forever resting in His presence. Evil may have taken their bodies, but their souls live on eternally. In this sense, God did protect them from the evil one’s ultimate goal, which is to separate them from God. And separation from God is the evil one’s goal for us, by making a mockery of his word and to cause us to doubt God and cast Him by the wayside.

My experience with God is that He is not only reactive. He is proactive and omniscient. He knows everything that can happen and has provided us with the tools and resources to counteract it. Saints of God, through the Holy Spirit, have the power to, as 1 John 5:4 asserts, “…overcome the world.” God has placed in us, His beloved saints, a mandate to make a difference in the world. We do this through prayer and action. Anyone can pass a law or start a mental health clinic. The people of God are uniquely positioned, through Christ, to address the sin problem. Sin is the foundation of mass murder, church shootings, terrorism, domestic violence, and all other ills that affect this country. The true terrorism in this country is sin, and we should use every weapon which God has given us to war against it.

I believe the Sutherland and Charleston church shootings should be a wake-up call to Christians everywhere. We shouldn’t be relishing in a state of confusion and indifference about why God didn’t save those people. Instead, we should be asking ourselves, “Why didn’t we?”

Many Protestant churches in D.C. follow the same mode: gather on Sundays for clergy-led worship, stay about two to three hours, and then go home. For most of the worshipers, church is finished for the week. Their religious obligation is complete. Back to their regular lives.

Rinse. Repeat.

However, I know of at least two congregations in the D.C. area that have taken enormous leaps and bounds away from the traditional, institutional church model (I may, with their permission, profile one of these congregations in a future blog). To the casual observer, these churches may appear to be strange, even heretical. In fact, they are far from heretical (although I admit they are strange, in the sense that they are unusual expressions of the church in the D.C. area), and are wholly committed to preaching the gospel of Jesus and affecting lives in the city.

These congregations gather for worship as a corporate body on Sundays, usually late in the afternoon. They own no building, and are likely not interested in owning one. They meet in rented school buildings or office buildings. Their services are usually short, between an hour and two. In addition, unlike many congregations in D.C., one would be hard-pressed to find anyone wearing a suit or a fancy church hat (a casual shirt and jeans are more commonplace).

What is most striking is that, for them, church does not end there. In fact, it is just the beginning. An essential part of their worship is community groups that gather weekly in various homes around the D.C. area. These gatherings are the continuation of worship that occurs on Sundays. In these meetings, they pray, they praise God, they sing, they eat, they study the Bible, they might even play a game or discuss an impactful movie or TV show. But they do not exist just to have meetings. Each group has a mission, unique depending on the neighborhood, to impact the community and the culture through the gospel. These meetings are the personification of fellowship and community, and closely mirror the model of church presented in the Acts of the Apostles.

No doubt, these congregations have broken from tradition and are hewing more closely to the New Testament model of church. And just what is that model? Pastor J. Todd Kingrea, in his new book, “Carrying on the Mission of Jesus: Rediscovering the mission, identity and purpose of the church,” takes the reader through a series of devotionals that cover the entire book of Acts. His premise is that the modern day church has been largely operating on the wrong model for 1,800 years and that God is calling the church back to the model and purpose of the New Testament church.

“I decided to write this book because I have seen too many churches merely existing for their own sake,” says Kingrea, an elder in the United Methodist Church. “They have lost their identity. The only mission they seem to have is institutional maintenance and the status quo. Churches are rapidly dying because they are not fulfilling their biblical mandate. I want to cause people to stop and think–seriously–about their own church when compared to what we see in Acts.”

Certainly Kingrea’s book is not the first-and likely not the last-book to challenge the modern-day church to excellence. But Kingrea has a unique message to share with readers in the United Methodist Church. “They have lost their identity. The only mission they seem to have is institutional maintenance and the status quo. Churches are rapidly dying because they are not fulfilling their biblical mandate. I want to cause people to stop and think–seriously–about their own church when compared to what we see in Acts.”

Carrying on the Mission of Jesus, available on Amazon.com and B&N.

“I hope my readers will be challenged to evaluate their own church life and practice,” he says. “I would like to see more churches begin moving away from a social or cultural expression of Christianity, and reclaim the essence and biblical principles of the church in Acts. It’s time today’s church stopped being little more than a social gather with some religion sprinkled on top of it.”

The book and its message have been getting rave reviews from congregations Kingrea is connected to, as well as glowing reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, including one who proclaims the book as “one of the best Christian books I have read.” Although Kingrea has no direct connection with the churches mentioned above, his book is proof positive that God is calling churches to think deeply about their operations. It is poised to start a movement of churches who reject tradition and return to doing “church” the way God intended. As Kingrea points out in his book, he prays, “this book will enhance your spiritual growth, and that God will begin a revitalization movement within your church…that you may transform the world outside your doors, and bring glory to God the Father!”

On May 20, a category EF5 tornado ripped through Moore, Oklahoma, a town with a population of just over 55,000 people. The tornado killed at least 24 people, including 10 children, and injured more than 353 others. This happen just over a month after the bombings of the Boston marathon, and a little more than five months after the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

As a Christian, I struggle with these tragedies. Like many others around the country, I watched with dismay the news coverage of these events. I witnessed the indescribable grief suffered by the families of those killed, and I prayed for them. But I also struggled to understand.

With the Boston Marathon bombings and the Sandy Hook shootings, there were people to blame. Human beings were directly responsible. Hatred, pity, disgust, and in some cases, prayers could be directed to them. We could reconcile these tragedies by attributing them to “crazy people.” We could, if we chose to do so, redirect our anger to the creation of more effective gun laws, or more accessible mental health treatment, or better security at schools and public events.

But who do we blame for a tornado tragedy? What legislation will satiate the effects of a natural disaster?

Many will blame God. Even I, as a devout, experienced Christian, found myself struggling to understand why God would allow the taking of so many lives, especially ten innocent children or, in the case of Sandy Hook, twenty innocent children. What justice or goodness could be achieved by allowing such disasters?

These questions represent a crossroads for many of us. At this point, some Christian believers, unable to reconcile their belief in a good and loving God with such horrible events, will move down the path toward agnosticism and atheism. If they continue to “believe” in Jesus, there is an overarching hostility toward Him, and a blatant refusal to acknowledge Him in devotion and worship. This is the point where our faith in God can be strenuously tested.

As I write this, I do not know why God allowed such events to happen. Maybe it is not for me to know. Mankind often has such an insatiable quest of knowledge that it discomforts us to realize that we cannot and do not know everything. Only God is omniscient. And my faith in Him demands that though I may not know or understand everything that God does, I still have to trust Him and believe that He has our best interest at heart. God has a purpose and a plan for us. Sometimes that is hard to swallow in the wake of such terrible events. We want to know. We want to understand. We want to make sense out of something that is senseless. But Romans 11:33 reminds us, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” In the spiritual realm is wisdom and purpose far beyond our limited and finite understanding.

I pray for the families of the victims of the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, and for the families of all the tragedies that have occurred in this country over the past year. I don’t know the purpose behind which they grieve. Some will say that God is trying to get America’s attention. Others will say that it is the sign of the last days. But whatever it is, my faith is still undeterred. God is still in control. He is still a good and loving God. Even when it seems like He isn’t.